This podcast is about our mitochondria, the little organelles which are the energy factories of our cells. 

In this show I'm going to be asking Dr. Crinnion the following questions:

1. What are mitochondria and what do they do for us?

2. How can I tell if my mitochondria are working or are not working?

3. Are there certain diseases that are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction?

4. What kinds of things "poison" my mitochondria?

In preparation for this interview I reread Dr. Crinnion's excellent book called Clean, Green and Lean, which I encourage all of you to get and read. It tells you the practical steps to help keep your own body clean, and to keep the environment where you live and work, clean. This is especially important for people who already have a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer. It is also very important for young families who are starting to have children which can be more easily affected by the chemicals in our environment.

You can get the hard back version of the book here

or the Kindle version here

In his book, Dr. Crinnion gives excellent suggestions for practical things you can do without needing to necessarily see a doctor. There are a few cases when it would be best to see a doctor who is experienced in integrative medicine and he clearly delineates those cases.

Dr. Crinnions 's website is located at Crinnion Medical

I really encourage you to read his recent articles about pesticides and their and the effects on child development.

Also mentioned in the podcast is the Endocrine Disruptor website (TEDX ), which shows how endocrine disruptors that are in our environment affect the development of the fetus in the womb. This is a most informative site. Please note it takes a few minutes to load as it is a very sophisticated site.

Also the dirty dozen list that we talked about-the fruits and vegetables with the MOST pesticides is here:

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

I'm delighted to announce that I am now starting to get my podcasts transcribed! I found an excellent transcription service and starting with this podcast, as you'll see below, all my podcasts will be available for you to read if you prefer that way of getting the information. At this time I'm not doing PDFs of the interviews. If you are interested in the PDF’s please do let me know.

 As I've mentioned, leave comments below (you'll need to scroll past the transcript) and/or you can contact me at my voicemail hotline 310-499-0275 or by e-mail at questions@askdrsoram.com 

Dr. Soram Khalsa – Dr. Crinnion Podcast on Mitochondria, Part 1

Well, greetings everyone. I am so happy to have my longtime colleague and dear friend Dr. Walter Crinnion, back with us today, to talk about a new subject. Dr. Crinnion is a professor at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Arizona. He is the chairman of the Environmental Medicine Department there. He’s been on TV. many times; he practiced for many years in the upper Seattle area and has tremendous experience with chemically poisoned individuals and detoxing people to improve their health and well-being. 

Most recently, he is the author of the wonderful book , “Clean, Green and Lean – Get Rid of Toxins that make you fat”. And today, we are going to be talking about another aspect of Environmental Toxicity and I am going to let Dr. Crinnion tell you about that:

Dr. Khalsa: So, Walter, welcome back to my podcast Dr. Crinnion. I am so honored to have you here. 

Dr. Crinnion: Soram, it’s always such a joy to talk with you, and especially fun on these podcasts.

DR. KHALSA: I love it! So, today, Walter, we are going to talk about mitochondria, and can you tell us what mitochondria are? What do they do for us? 

DR. CRINNION: Well, mitochondria are actually the little furnaces or engines in every cell of our body. They are the things that take our nutrients from the food we eat, the sugar and the fat, and take that and make it into energy.  So each cell in our body can do its job.  Then, we as a body, as a whole being, has energy, our brains work right, everything in our body works right when the mitochondria in the cells are able to reduce the energy so that everything works. 

DR. KHALSA; Perfect, excellent explanation, and so why, since we are talking about Environmental Medicine, have you chosen to talk with us today about mitochondria? How does that affect us in regards to our exposure to environmental chemicals and toxicants? Where does that fit in?

DR. CRINNION: Well, you know Soram, we know that the Environmental toxicants pose a whole host of medical and health problems in people and over the last 10 or so years, a great amount of information has come out pointing to the fact that these environmental toxicants that are in the air, food, and water cause their damage to a great extent by poisoning the mitochondria.

DR. KHALSA: Oh wow, ok.

DR. CRINNION: So, solvents for instance, you know, kids sniff glue. It makes them high. Well, what is the mechanism there? It’s the mitochondrial damage in the neurons. So, the neurons in the brain do not work so they get this high. So, working with the mitochondria, understanding that and ways to protect it all becomes crucial in helping us protect ourselves from the classic health problems that our environmental toxicant load provides to us. 

DR. KHALSA: Yes, and remind us what are the spectrum of health problems we see that are related to our exposure to environmental toxicants. 

DR. CRINNION; Well the major systems in the body that are damaged by the toxicants are first the brain. So a lot of neurologic things, like mood swings, the classic one are brain fog, where you cognitive abilities just don’t work like they used to, ability to think, understand, to remember. It can also lead to neurological diseases; Parkinson’s is a classic one associated with a lot of environmental toxicants. The immune system is also damaged, where you get a lot of allergies, asthma, and auto-immunity, can’t fight off infections, so you get chronic infections, chronic viruses, chronic fungi. The endocrinal/hormonal system lots of problems with that. Low thyroid, adrenaline balance, infertility is a big one, and diabetes is the new one so strongly associated with it. And overall the big symptoms that show up are fatigue, and mood problems.  These are very, very common. So, those are like the big deals that go on. I guess we can mention some of the bone marrow cancers as well.

DR. KHALSA: Yes, yes there have been a number of articles which I have been accumulating which I hope that you and I can talk with on future podcasts  about the role specifically of mercury with respect to damage to the auto-immune system. Recent studies showed within the Haynes evaluation the connection of mercury with auto-immune thyroiditis and also with anti-nuclear antibodies and anti-nuclear clear antibodies which are the hallmarks of lupus.

DR. CRINNION: Hmm, yes.

DR. KHALSA: So, these are becoming more and more visible to the general population now with these studies coming out. So, to go back to our mitochondria, how can I tell if my mitochondria are working or not working? 

DR. CRINNION: Well, let me give you one example. Many people have probably experienced low blood sugar at some point…

DR. KHALSA: Yes, hypoglycemia.

DR. CRINNION: So, when you have hypoglycemia/low blood sugar you know, your brain doesn’t work right, you don’t have energy, you’re really tired, you’re cranky and all that. Well, that is the mitochondria in your brain cells, not able to function because they don’t have enough sugar to make energy.  Well, it’s those kinds of symptoms, and the big ones that people complain of is fatigue. I don’t have enough energy. Well, what makes energy? The mitochondria are what make energy. And people who are obese, they have a lot of fuel, but they are not able to burn it.

DR. KHALSA: Yes, right. 

DR. CRINNION: Why is stored instead of burned. The mitochondria are what burn it up. IF the mitochondria are not working, you are going to be overweight. 

DR. KHALSA: That is so interesting.

DR. CRINNION: If you are having these kind of problems and there are some of the classic illnesses that are in epidemic proportions now, that are strongly associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Obesity being one of them, and chronic fatigue, diabetes, is known to be mitochondria dysfunction. Parkinsonism is known to be mitochondrial dysfunction. In heart failure, the mitochondria in the heart is not working right.

DR. KHALSA: Yes, yes, it’s interesting.

DR. CRINNION: So, these are some classic presentations.

DR. KHALSA: Yes, and that’s why, for example, in Parkinson’s we know that if we give them intravenous glutathione, literally, their tremors stop for several days, or markedly reduced and glutathione is like one of the fuels that the mitochondria is using.  

DR. CRINNION: It’s actually one of the few, I guess you would call it a nutrient that’s actually inside the mitochondria. It’s the only antioxidant present inside the mitochondria and it’s critical for the functioning of the mitochondria. Now the other nutrient in mitochondria is Coenzyme Q10 and that dosing Co-Q10 has also been shown to slow the progression of Parkinson’s.

DR. KHALSA: yes, indeed. High doses used.

DR. CRINNION: So, it’s mitochondria.

DR. KHALSA: yes, yes. And I don’t think that conventional medicine understands the ideology of why Co-Q10 helps in Parkinson’s but this certainly explains it. I think it is just used empirically by conventional neurologists. Great. So those are some good ways for us to be aware. Fatigue is certainly rampant in our society and everybody attributes it to stress but of course stress can affect our mitochondria as well. 

DR. CRINNION: Yes.

DR. KHALSA: So, you’ve mentioned certain diseases that are associated with mitochondria dysfunction. What kinds of things poison the mitochondria?

DR. CRINNION: Well, the whole host of environmental toxicants that we’re exposed to, you know the CDR, the Center for Disease Control, has been doing ongoing studies about what are the toxicants that are in all of us. They are up to their fourth report now. It’s available right on the web at drcrinnion.gov 

DR. KHALSA: Great

DR. CRINNION: And so what I did with the last report, Soram, the fourth report, is I just sat down and looked at all the toxicants that they are finding in basically everybody and I just go to Pub Med, the National Library of Medicine, the National Institute of Health, a database of all published articles and I would just put in the search. I’d do whatever the toxicant was that CDR found in everybody and then I would do AND mitochondria! 

DR. KHALSA; Laughs

DR. CRINNION: And literally, all the ones that are in all of us have been shown in scientific laboratory studies that poison mitochondria. 

DR. KHALSA: Wow! Wow, wow, wow. So all that is in the medical literature?

DR. CRINNION: Yes, the mitochondrial damaging these things is an overwhelming burden. We don’t have just one mitochondria poison in our body. We’ve got literally hundreds!

DR. KHALSA: Yes

DR. CRINNION: The weight is overwhelming. 

DR. KHALSA: Indeed, and we know from the environmental working group study that newborns are born with 280 of these chemicals in their bodies already that have been flowing through their system, while the mother was pregnant.  

DR. CRINNION: Yes, yes! Leading to a whole host of problems. And knowing that the mitochondria prevent proper functioning of all our cells – immune cells, brain cells, the hormonal producing cells. Problems in those areas are what bring 90%-95% of your patients to you. When you are out driving and you’re wondering why people are driving so strange, well, they are loaded with solvents. They’re neuro-toxins. Their mitochondria are damaged. 

DR. KHALSA: Yes, yes. That’s very interesting. To just divert for a second on newborns, I’m just thinking out loud with you for your perspective, so the babies do not have a formed blood-brain barrier in the womb or for the first six months of their life. So, all these toxicants that are affecting the mitochondria, can be affecting the mitochondria in the neurological tissue. That’s…

DR. CRINNION: Oh clearly are. The research has clearly shown that. I just did a little blog on my website, drcrinnion.com

DR. KHALSA: Good, I will put that in the show notes, Walter

DR. CRINNION: There was, the great journal, Environmental Health Perspectives, that I love so much, 

DR. KHALSA: Yes, me too.

DR. CRINNION: they had three articles in a recent edition, all about exposure to a growing fetus, of organophosphate pesticides. Now, these are what we all have, when we don’t eat all organic foods.

DR. KHALSA: Yes, right.

DR. CRINNION; SO, if we are eating commercial apples, a peach, lettuce, potatoes, celery, spinach; their mom’s got organophosphate pesticides, which were developed in Germany, after WWI, for a nerve gas warfare agent.

DR. KHALSA: That’s interesting

DR. CRINNION: And these kids, these three studies in Environmental Health Perspectives, showed that the kids, who are exposed, inside mom, to levels that are commonly found, according to the CDR. CRINNION data, in US residents, come out with ADHD, lower IQ, mood disorders. And that’s just from mom eating an apple a day!

DR. KHALSA: From my point of view, that’s what’s been documented so far. And I am hoping that someday, they can take a look at that exposure, it’s called the expososome now. It actually has a name now, the amount of exposure we get from the environment, and if it has a relationship with the epidemic of autism.

DR. CRINNION: Mhmm, yeah.

DR. KHALSA: Because, I am very suspicious that there is a connection there. But, are you aware of any literature that has looked at that? I don’t think they have. It is harder to study autism. 

DR. CRINNION: Yeah, I have not seen any articles about that yet that I remember. But, Theo Colburn,  the great doctor who wrote the book , “ Our Stolen Future”, he’s got a new website, called TEDx, it’s for endocrine disruption,  it’ll show you, it has a little interactive thing on there, it takes a while to load because it has a lot of information on there. It will show you prenatal exposure to a variety of compounds, and some of the end results. I have not looked on that site yet, for autism. 

DR. KHALSA: Yes, yeah.

DR. CRINNION: So, I have not really looked at that. 

DR. KHALSA: Yes, I don’t think that the literature supports that. But certainly, with this epidemic, and the recently announced market increase, 1 in 88 children, were born, are getting autism. There should be some forthcoming research. But it won’t surprise me if it’s tied in with the same mechanism. 

DR. CRINNION: Oh, yeah, yeah.

DR. KHALSA: Yes

DR. CRINNION: Not at all.

DR. KHALSA: So, now, we are getting exposed to these poisons, our mitochondria are getting affected. Are there ways to protect our mitochondria?

DR. CRINNION: And that is an excellent question. And the answer is thankfully, yes. Again, it’s natural medicine to the rescue.

DR. KHALSA: Yes. Great. 

DR. CRINNION: We talked a little bit about CO-Q10, and Glutathione being molecules that are in the mitochondria. There has been a tremendous amount to show that Glutathione replacement is one of the real big deals in helping mitochondria work right.

DR. KHALSA: Hmm mmm

DR. CRINNION: And protect them against this toxicant damage. So, that’s typically supplementing either the nutrient NAC enacetolcysteine or whey protein. 

DR. KHALSA: Hmm mm

DR. CRINNION: Those are the two sources of amino acid cysteine, which you need, to make glutathione. 

DR. KHALSA; Yes, it’s a precursor. 

DR. CRINNION: Yes, if you have been around a lot of environmental toxicants then you have probably depleted your glutathione store. And so, you will have to make sure that you have an extra source of that. NAC is not that expensive.

DR. KHALSA: I know. 

DR. CRINNION: If you are going to do that whey protein, you will have to do the higher quality, higher cost whey proteins that are manufactured under high pressure rather than higher temperature.

DR. KHALSA: Great and what dose of NAC and N-acetyl cysteine would you suggest?

DR. CRINNION: You know, in a lot of the studies they are using around 1500mg. 

DR. KHALSA: Hmm mm, yes, that is what I have seen as well. And this is easily available at health food stores. 

DR. CRINNION; Yeah

DR. KHALSA: and, also, for our listeners to know there are new companies now that are making lypospheric glutathione.

DR. CRINNION: Yes, yes, yes. And prior to these liposomal glutathione molecules, all the studies where people have taken reduced glutathione from the health food store doesn’t work. It doesn’t raise your glutathione. Your body has to break the glutathione back down to cysteine and so, then after the cysteine rises, and then you get glutathione. It’s cheaper just to take the cysteine. These new liposomal forms are looking very, very promising,.

DR. KHALSA: Yes, indeed. I have been using them in my practice for patients that have need for this and they are very, very effective. Maybe, Walter, why don’t you tell our audience what is liposomal.

DR. CRINNION: Well, I can’t tell you the actual stereo-chemistry of it, but it binds the anacetolcysteine within a lipid soluble or fat soluble sphere and that’s the best I can say.

DR. KHALSA: And they use Phosphatidyl Choline for that.

DR. CRINNION: Yes, and I don’t know how they make it.

DR. KHALSA: Laughs

DR. CRINNION: How they plug it in there that I do not know. 

DR. KHALSA: And I am just going to correct you said, NAC. Actually, they are putting in a glutathione molecule.

DR. CRINNION: Oh yes, I am sorry. They also have a liposomal NAC; they have done it with Vitamin C. But yes, I think we were talking about glutathione. Thank you for the correction.

DR. KHALSA: Sure

DR. CRINNION: And that gets picked up with fat and your intestines are very good at sucking fat out of the intestinal lining, and that way it gets picked up intact. Otherwise, the reduced glutathione you have been taking is going get broken down because that is how you absorb amino acids. You don’t absorb whole amino acid combinations which are, in larger forms, called proteins. You break them down in to the component amino acid.

DR. KHALSA: Yeah. The way I explain it to my patients is the way you did. The glutathione is captured inside a little fat globule and these are all microscopic.

DR. CRINNION: That’s a great way to say it.

DR. KHALSA: And then the intestine sends it directly right to the liver because it is a fat molecule. The liver strips off the fat coating and bingo, the glutathione goes shooting in to our bloodstream.

DR. CRINNION: And the liver is the main place where the glutathione really gets made, put together the cysteine and other amino acids and the released in to the bloodstream for the rest of the body to grab and utilize and pull in to the cell.

DR. KHALSA: Yes, exactly, exactly.

I am also delighted to announce that the Pregnancy Awareness Organization is sponsoring an event in Los Angeles on May 6 at the Skirball Center. It is from noon to 4 PM. Ken Cook, the president of Environmental Working Group, and Alejandro Junger,  and I will be on a panel entitled "Cleaning up for Pregnancy". We will discuss how to clean out before a woman gets pregnant. If you or one of your girlfriends are in the greater Los Angeles area and are thinking about getting pregnant soon this event would be most informative for you.

I then take several questions. We had a phone call voice message call from a gentleman in Canada inquiring about a person near to him with breast cancer. He was asking about a product called  MGN3 and its benefit for use in people with cancer. I reply to his question and explain that supporting the immune system is only one part of getting to the underlying causes of breast cancer. I also emphasized that integrative medicine is NOT a replacement for traditional medicine in the treatment of breast cancer.

He also asked about a possible consultation with me professionally. For those of you who are interested in seeing me as a physician, you may contact me directly at the clinic at 310-274 6200  or you can contact me by e-mail at my office at drkhalsa@khalsamedical.com. 

I then take a question from Ross regarding vitamin D2 versus vitamin D3, and I explained that I prefer using vitamin D3 in all my patients.

I then reply to Natalia who has written to me from the UK, regarding her daughter and the difficulty of getting her vitamin D level up. I gave several suggestions including repeating her vitamin D blood test another lab as well as checking on the quality of the vitamin D that she is giving her daughter to get her levels up. I also talk about diagnosing celiac disease in her daughter and what to do if there is an absorption problem with the vitamin D taken orally.

I received a very interesting question from Veena in Tanzania about autoimmune thyroid disease. It is very difficult for her to get blood tests of vitamin D there, and I've advised her to take 2000 units a day which we know to be safe for all adults if they cannot get a blood test. I also refer her to my video on YouTube which in 1 min. gives you full information on replacing your vitamin D. I also talk about autoimmune thyroid and its newly recognized relationship with levels of Mercury. I talk about the treatment of autoimmune thyroid which is also called Hashimoto's thyroid.

Please send me your questions at questions@askdrsoram.com or you can phone in your questions to 310-499-0275. 

I also appreciate your comments below and look forward to our continuing dialogue.

BPA has been found in the urine of more than 93% of Americans tested. It is a synthetic estrogen that was developed more than 70 years ago and has been widely used since the 1960s specifically to make polycarbonate plastic for things such as baby bottles. It's also been used to line metal cans such as soup cans. It can be found in dental sealants and eyeglasses as well as a coating for cash register receipts and hundreds of other household items.

BPA is an “endocrine disruptor” (EDC) and as such disrupts our endocrine system. It is been linked to neurological defects, diabetes, breast and prostate cancer, and heart disease.

Just recently Campbell’s Soup company announced that they would be removing BPA from the inner lining of their soup cans. This was brought about by pressure from consumers.

See this site for more information:

I then go on to talk about the exciting new article that was published in Endocrine Reviews. This article showed that even low doses of environmental chemicals which can disrupt our hormone system can have serious effects on human health. The researchers say that this points to the need for basic changes in how chemical safety testing is conducted.

Currently safety data is evaluated by giving animals high doses of chemical compounds and seeing if they get cancer or die. This study changes all that. In this article, by reviewing over 800 other articles it is recognized now, that you do not need high doses- and specifically very low doses of these environmental chemicals -can affect our body leading to chronic disease. This ability of a chemical in a very low potency to affect our system is called  "Hormesis", because these chemicals are acting like a hormone on our body.

In this new report, researchers, who were led by Tufts University’s Laura Vandenberg, concluded after they studied hundreds of studies that health effects "are remarkably common" when people or animals are exposed to low doses of endocrine disrupting compounds. The authors of the article concluded that scientific evidence "clearly indicates that low doses cannot be ignored." They point out a wide range of health effects in people from fetuses to aging adults including now known links to infertility cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer, and other disorders.

In the article they wrote "Whether low doses of endocrine – disrupting compounds influence human disorders is no longer conjecture, as epidemiologic studies show that environmental exposures are associated with human diseases and disabilities."

They go on to say that "current testing paradigms are missing important sensitive endpoints for human health. The effects of low doses cannot be predicted by the effects observed at high doses. Thus fundamental changes in chemical testing and safety determination are needed to protect human health."

Here is a link to an audio interview with Dr. Vandenberg the chief researcher of this article. I really encourage you to listen to it.

Here are links to other websites where the article is reviewed and discussed.

Scientific American

Environment 360

Original article here

In this podcast I then go on to discuss (which is most probably related to the article I just discussed) the burgeoning epidemic of autism. In the year 2000, 1 in 150 children was diagnosed with autism. In 2008 the FDA has just announced that one in 88 children is now diagnosed with autism. Even more shocking, the data currently is that one in 54 boys or almost 2% of all boys are being diagnosed with autism.

On April 2, 2012 World Autism Day was held in New York City to push for official recognition of autism as a national public health emergency and to analyze the federal health authorities’ failure to respond.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/waad

I encourage you to look at the Autism Action Network website which you can find here.

I had intended to get to some of your questions on this podcast but time did not allow. I will be answering your questions that you've e-mailed and phoned in, in the near future in my podcast. Thank you for sending them and being patient!

Please write your comments below or send me an email at questions@askdrsoram.com. I really want to know what your thoughts are about all this and how you or your family may have been affected by all this.

I also want to invite all my listeners who are thinking about getting pregnant, (or your family and friends who are thinking of getting pregnant) and who live in the greater LA area to a Pregnancy Awareness Month (PAM) event being held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on May 6, 2012. My friends and colleagues Ken Cook and Alejandro Junger and I will be talking about “Cleaning up for Pregnancy”. You can get more information about this event here. 

I hope to see you there!

We pick up in part 2 of the interview talking the nutrients she recommends during pregnancy. Brain development and Essential Fatty Acids during pregnancy and nursing are reviewed. 

Then we move on to talk about bio identical hormones for menopause. We review the herbs that are helpful for menopause. What is the definition of bio-identical?  Dr. Suzanne defines it. 

Is it risky for a menopausal woman to take bio identical hormones? This depends on several factors in the woman’s life and personal history. 

Dr Suzanne definitely recommends bio identical hormones for women that want to take hormones at menopause. She reviews the new data from the Women’s Health Initiative that women with low risk for breast cancer actually had a lower risk of breast cancer when they took the horse hormone brand Premarin. 

Furthermore I am happy to learn that a new study of hormone replacement in women who had breast cancer is also in progress, to help with symptoms including bone loss. 

Yam cream is NOT bio-identical hormones. The risk of soy derived hormones containing GMO’s is also a consideration. 

The typical menopausal woman may be having hot flashes, heart palpitations and not able to sleep. This can really affect a woman’s quality of life. 

Also sexual and vaginal health is also relevant in thinking about hormone replacement in women. Most menopausal women do need vaginal estrogen to keep their vaginal lining healthy.

I ask Dr Suzanne if she thinks estrogen causes breast cancer and she gives a great answer. 

Progestin vs Progesterone is discussed and Dr. Suzanne explains the difference. The estrogen/progesterone balance is very important for a menopausal woman’s (really all ages of women) health. 

How can we benefit by looking beyond our comfort  zones and beyond conventional medicine to create wellness and balance?  Dr. Suzanne gives great answers to this very important question. She reminds us “We are part of Nature”! 

To close, we talk about Dr Suzanne’s converting her 70 year old LA house to a “green” house with the help of a great architect she knew. She describes the materials they used to make this transformation. From paint to air filtration she describes what they did. 

Her parting advice, which I agree with, is to find a practitioner who you can partner with and start simple in improving your health and go step by step. 

You can learn more about Dr. Suzanne from her practice website 

Soon, her own website will be up as well 

www.thedrsuzanne.com

You can reach her on twitter @askdrsuzanne

And on Facebook

Please put your comments in the box below or send me an email at questions@askdrsoram.com

Dr. Suzanne is fully trained in Ayurvedic Medicine and uses it in her practice. We talk about “what is Ayurveda” and how does it compare with Traditional Chinese Medicine. Ayurveda is one of the oldest healing systems and comes from India. 

Ayurveda means the science of life and is directly related to Yoga. 

We talk about the main modalities of treatment that are used in Ayurveda. And she points out that lifestyle management is a big part of Ayurveda.

 Marma therapy  is part of Ayurveda and is analogous to acupressure in Chinese medicine.

Dr. Suzanne brings in many aspects of integrative medicine to her practice and works closely with other integrative practitioners and that is how I met her. She provides a safe environment for women to talk to her about their lives and health.

We discuss how she uses Ayurvedic  medicine in Obstetrics. The idea that “you are not in control” is a big lesson during pregnancy and we discuss this.  Pregnancy lets a woman learn to let go! We talk about yoga and safe yoga practices during pregnancy. I am happy to see that Vitamin D is part of her basic prenatal blood panel. 

We talk about Vitamin D in pregnancy and the prevention of diabetes in children and I mention the study by Elona Hyponnen and Vitamin D in pregnancy and early life in the prevention  of childhood diabetes , which is becoming epidemic.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11705562

Dr. Suzanne teaches the Ob-Gyn residents at Cedars Sinai about the use of integrative medicine so they are familiar with it. 

We talk about the use of safe supplements and lifestyle in obstetrics.

Then we talked about treatment of endometriosis. And the use of high dose vitamin D for menstrual cramps. 

We then discuss HPV and the use of Green tea Extract topically and even orally for the treatment of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus). She may do some research with Cedars Sinai on this.  

I ask her about the HPV vaccine, its effectiveness in preventing cervical cancer and its limitations.  Pre-cancer vs dysplasia. Guardisil vaccinations do not guarantee never getting an abnormal pap test. We talk about  why.

The role of boys and men in spreading HPV is discussed and now boys are getting the Guardasil vaccine as well.

Head and neck cancers are now connected to HPV contracted during oral sex, as well. 

In the next podcast we will finish our interview with more information on bio identical hormones, menopause, and breast cancer.

You can learn more about Dr. Suzanne from her practice website

Soon, her own website will be up as well 

www.thedrsuzanne.com

You can reach her on twitter @askdrsuzanne

And on Facebook .

Please put your comments in the box below or send me an email at questions@askdrsoram.com

As mentioned in the podcast, my at-home finger stick vitamin D blood test can be ordered in the store at my website HERE:

In this podcast the following questions were addressed:

• What forms of vitamin D are tested in my at-home vitamin D test kit?

• Is my vitamin D product vegan, and what is it made from specifically?

• A lady whose 12-year-old daughter has symptoms including weakness of the muscles in her legs, extreme mood swings, depression, tiredness, and psoriasis – like skin rash.

• I answer question about the dosage  is recommended in my Hay House interview for normalizing your vitamin D level using 50,000 IU of vitamin D per week.

• I answer  a 47-year-old lady’s questions about using vitamin K with her vitamin D

• I talk about the difference between vitamin D2 and vitamin D3.

• I answer questions about the use of Vitamin D for a lady with Multiple Sclerosis. 

I will have a complete transcript of this question and answer session up by next week. 

As always, leave your comments below and you may send me questions at questions@askdrsoram.com 

To your good health !

This is the opposite of “backloading” which is eating small all day and then having a gigantic dinner with snacks the rest of the night. This prevents people from saying  “ I can go all day without food but then at 3pm I need my sugar. 

Ashley’s 4 tenets for healthy eating are

1.Quality,
2. Quantity,
3.Frequency and
4. Nutrient balance.

Food allergies are then discussed and the role of GMO’s in contributing to this. Our bodies are getting all sorts of things in modern food that it does not know how to deal with. This causes the body to become less efficient and irritated. Food intolerances are a wake up call –Your body is telling you it is so irritated that is not accepting the food you are putting into it.

So we use a simple bland diet for a while to clear the cobwebs so to speak and then try the foods again. Often you will be able to eat many of the foods that you thought you were allergic to. 

This gut irritation can be part of what causes elevated HS-CRP
–C Reactive Protein which is great marker for inflammation and Ashley uses this regularly as a marker for gut inflammation. In traditional medicine, instead of looking at the gut and diet as a way to lower the inflammation, the patient is given a pharmaceutical drug to lower it.

The difference between a vegan diet and a whole food plant based diet is important to understand. 

Ashley notes that Research is “Me-search”!

We also talk about the EWG and their safe cosmetics database as a place to start.  Be aware that the packaging will only tell you what you want to hear.  Whole foods do not require labeling!

I also ask Ashley her answer to “What is the one thing we could all do to improve our energy and as a result our health today. She gives a great  answer!

How do get started? Start with right where you are now and it will grow.

To find out more about Ashley, check out her website or find her on facebook and twitter

Ashleykoffapproved on Facebook

@ashleykoff on twitter. 

You can find her book Mom Energy: A Simple Plan to live Fully Charged which you can get here

Or here as a kindle book.

You can get her book on Recipes for IBS here

or on Kindle here

Please leave comments and questions below or email me at questions@askdrsoram.com

United States Surgeon General Regina Benjamin is advocating a "holistic approach" to well-being. At the North American Adventist Health Summit meeting Dr. Benjamin was quoted  to say "If we really want to change and reform healthcare in this country, we need to prevent people from getting sick in the first place."

Dr. Benjamin also is the head of the National Prevention Council which was established through President Obama's Health Reform Act. She went on to point out that this administration’s vision is to change the nation's health care system "from a focus on disease and illness to a focus on wellness and prevention." "Health does not occur in the doctor's office or hospital alone”, she said. "Health occurs where we live, where we learn, where we work, where we play and where we pray."

She went on to say "I continue to be impressed by the innovative thinking that's going on in the Seventh – day Adventist Church to make health something you live, and not just something you hope for."

Health professionals at the meeting pointed out that obesity rates had doubled in adults and more than tripled in children since 1980. They pointed out that the need to raise awareness is more urgent than ever. More than 20 million United States children under the age of five are now overweight.

Dr. Albert Reece who is the dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland was at the meeting and pointed out that "Obesity is often the underlying cause of heart disease, cancer and hypertension and is the number one risk factor for type II diabetes. He pointed out that "We are now number one in the world with regards to obesity. The United States wishes to be and likes to be number one in everything, but this is not one area that we can be proud of".

As an integrative medicine physician whose logo is "Enlightened Medicine, Consciously Living, Compassionate Healing" I am so delighted to hear that the government and major medical centers are now recognizing the need for lifestyle change and conscious living and awareness of what we are putting in and doing to our bodies as a way to reduce the health care budget that is crippling our country. The quotes given above are direct quotes from lectures I have given and many of my integrative medicine colleagues have given for years. 

I look forward to working with you to help you keep yourself and your family healthy, happy, and spiritually connected.

Read more here. 

Please feel free to ask me questions below or send an e-mail to questions@askdrsoram.com 

We talk about her two books, Recipes for IBS and Mom Energy: A Simple Plan to Live Fully Charged which she wrote with Kathy Kaehler, who is a celebrity trainer. 

25 million people have IBS and that is why Ashley wrote a book on the dietary approach to helping patients with IBS. Ashley wanted her book to be called Digestive Wellness and that is what it is really about. 

In her new book Mom Energy: A Simple Plan to Live Fully Charged. In this book she talks about how fatigue is one of the main complaints in our society.  She talks about how people are confusing MORE energy with Better energy. We want to learn what a good baseline energy for us. Her book is much more than just the mother with children but really anybody who needs to give out a lot of energy.

She points out that in the name of being a mom, women are often rewarding themselves with food. She talks about the importance of being selfish so that you can take care of yourself and that you can then take better care of your children and family. In our society the idea being selfish is regarded as negative, but that is not really the way it should be. This will let women be better in their own lives and better for others.

The simple analogy is that on an airplane you are advised that if the oxygen masks drop down you are to put it on yourself before your children so that you can properly take care of them. 

Ashley talks about how she met with an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Center in New York who always advises his cancer patients to eat only organic but he does not eat organic himself at home!

I find this very often in my practice that people do not pay attention to these things until they reach a crisis point.

We talk about which diet Ashley recommends to her general clients. She recommends a Qualitarian diet which is a diet that uses high quality foods that are not loaded with pesticides, or sugars, or preservatives.

The idea of what I can and cannot have should always be based on what is best for your body. Somebody on a vegan diet could be eating sugar and caffeine all day and be very unhealthy. Not everybody should be on the same diet. But synthetic, processed, poor quality food does not work for anybody.

You have to play an active role in order to be a “Qualitarian”. With this diet you have to be knowledgeable about nutrients. This is important thing to know if you are vegetarian or vegan in order to avoid belly fat.

We need to get complete protein but you do not have to eat meat to do that but just a variety of foods to give you the full Amino Acid balance.

We also talk about how it is ironic that cows are vegans and yet we eat their meat in order to get our full protein!  They got their full proteins from eating a variety of grasses that carried the full amino acid balance, so why can’t we? And of course in fact we can! 

To find out more about Ashely, check out her website or find her on facebook and twitter

You can find her book Mom Energy: A Simple Plan to live Fully Charged which you can get here

Or here as a kindle book

You can get her book on Recipes for IBS here

or on Kindle here

Please leave comments and questions below or email me at questions@askdrsoram.com

As a physician, I often do not have the time to go over the details of the diet and certainly do not have the time to help them with direct menu planning. I'm very fortunate to have Ashley working with me to help implement the diets that I prescribe for patients. As a Registered Dietitian, she is able to sit down with the patient  and go over the diet and menu planning in detail and answer all their questions because of her familiarity with all the integrative medicine types of diets that we use.

In this first part of my interview, Ashley and I discuss what is the difference between a registered dietitian and nutritionist?

We then go on to talk about why a doctor would refer her a patient and what her role is working with the physician such as she does with me. We talk about how she helps my patients. And how she allows email follow-up for her patients. She helps people find what works for them with diet not just a rigid following of a program on a piece of paper. 

Ashley works with me and other physicians around the country and helps our patients “implement” the diets the doctors prescribe.  

On my next podcast I will talk with Ashley about her new book Mom Energy: A Simple Plan to live Fully Charged which you can get here

Or here as a kindle book.

We will also discuss her other book Recipes for IBS.

Ashley’s website is here

Follow her on facebook atAshleykoffapproved

And on twitter @ashleykoff

Please leave comments and questions below or email me at questions@askdrsoram.com.

In this part two of my interview with Dr. Walter Crinnion we continue to discuss the ubiquitous phthalates, and how Conscious Living can help us minimize our exposure to them.

We talk about several studies that have shown it is easy to reduce your phthalate burden. And  a book that shows how the authors were able to reduce their own levels. The book is Slow Death By Rubber Duck

or you can get it on Kindle here

We also talk about Metametrix which is a laboratory where your doctor can order a test kit to measure your phthalate levels. We also talked about the dirty dozen at the environmental working group. The link to the environmental working group's safe cosmetics database is here.

The article about metabolic disruptors that I mentioned in an interview can be found here.

 The link to the Naturopathic Medical Association is here.

The link to Dr. Crinnion's book Clean Green and Lean, is here.

or get it on Kindle here

 And Dr. Crinnion's website is here.

I can recommend a wonderful air filter for your house. It is the Rabbit filter and you can buy it at this website. They've given me a discount code for my listeners which is SK1259  and if you apply it, you will get a discount of $30.00 off when you buy an air filter.

I look forward to hearing your comments about these two interviews with Dr. Crinnion.  Have you changed your lifestyle as a result of this information? Have you read the ingredients on your personal care products? Have you found phthalates in your products? Have you changed the way you cook or make or buy food and the wrapping that is around it as result of this podcast?

You can leave a comment below or you can drop me an e-mail at questions@askdrsoram.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Phthalates are plasticizers and they are used everywhere in our life. From plastic grocery bags to garden hoses to shower curtains to children's toys and food wrapping, we are all constantly being exposed to phthalates.

Phthalates are not like other environmental toxins. Most environmental toxins get in our body and are sequestered in our fat and do their mischief that way. Phthalates do not persist in our body and have a very short half-life of approximately one day. Therefore if you are able to avoid phthalates for just 5 days, levels of phthalates in your body will be markedly less.

In this interview we talk about how you can do that.

The link to the Environmental Working Group is here:

and their fabulous cosmetics database is here.

Phthalates are linked to many common medical conditions that we are seeing in our environment that appear to have no cause. This ranges from endometriosis, to uterine fibroids, to ADHD in children, to reduced fertility in men in our society, and all the way to breast cancer.

And yet, by just changing your environment with the products you use the foods you eat and cleaning up your house and personal care products your levels can significantly drop. In this interview you'll learn how women with the highest levels of phthalates in their body were four times more likely to get breast cancer. One would ask why the FDA does not regulate these products more closely. If there was a food that was causing a breast cancer rate increase of 400% certainly the FDA would become involved.

In addition, increasingly diabetes and obesity are being recognized as linked to our exposure to phthalates.

I look forward to your comments about this part one of the interview with Dr. Crinnion. Have you checked your personal care products? Do you have a doctor that can help you find out if you are overburdened with phthalates? Do you have friends or family that had been diagnosed with breast cancer who have had their phthalate levels checked? Please drop me a comment in the box below or send me an e-mail at questions@askdrsoram.com.

I am just back from the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) conference entitled Applying Functional Medicine to Detoxification. 

In this podcast, I share with you my excitement about the many things that I learned that complement what I already do in my practice of medicine.

The speakers included Dr. Kristi Hughes, ND, (pictured above with me) who is the Associate Medical Director of the Institute for Functional Medicine. She organized a wonderful conference with three other speakers.

The speakers were Dr. Jeanne Drisko MD, Kenneth Bock, MD, and Rick Mayfield, ND. The four doctors taught us about how environmental toxicity is overwhelming our body's ability to cope with the toxins and contributing to the development of the wealth of diseases that we see in today's society.

Dr. Bock is a famous physician who is treating autistic patients with great success. He pointed out to us that one in 91 children are being diagnosed with autism. One in 11 children are being diagnosed with ADHD, and one out of every four children suffers from respiratory or other allergies.

We learned about the five different mechanisms of toxic insult and how these insults can manifest in disease in adults as well. In adults the manifestations are everything from cancer, diabetes, heart disease to all the autoimmune diseases including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroiditis.

Even the epidemic of obesity in our society is now linked with the toxins which we are now realizing act as what are called "Environmental Obesigens.”  These are chemicals that make it difficult  to lose weight because they change our biochemistry. This then contributes to the relapsing that people trying to lose weight have. 

We discussed "detox" programs that involve a functional food along with a low allergy diet and the many benefits that this can bring.

If you have friends or family who have children with any of the 4-A disorders, autism, ADHD, asthma, or allergies I urge you to read Dr. Bock’s books which you can get here

And here.

Those of you who want to find a practitioner who has had similar training can contact the Institute for Functional Medicine website which is here. They have a list of practitioners and you can find one near you.

I really encourage you if you have a chronic health problem that conventional medicine has not been able to figure out to look for  a functional medicine doctor.

Please leave your comments and questions below or e-mail me at questions@askdrsoram.com. I look forward to being in dialogue with you.

They have over 12,000 physician members and over 120,000 lay members.

PCRM does clinical research and work with diets to see how diet can benefit diabetes and heart disease and other major diseases.

The other side of PCRM is the ethical side. They look at why medical researchers still use animals for experiments that could be better accomplished without animals.

After much work, PCRM has virtually eliminated the use of animals by most medical schools for teaching medical students. 

PCRM brings in non-animal techniques to do research which is now very validated. With modern techniques such as tissue banks which are very sophisticated research can be done without using animals.

He also discusses PCRM’s efforts to ban research on the Great Apes. He and I ask you to call your congressperson and ask them to pass the bill to stop research on the Great Apes. You can call (202) 224-3121 and tell them your zip code and they will connect you to your representative directly. 

PCRM is in partnership with George Washington School of Medicine to teach medical education for physicians on diet and nutrition for good health.  Currently there is almost no education in med school itself on how diet and improve our health. The site is here

His book 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart: Boost Metabolism, Lower Cholesterol, and Dramatically Improve Your Health can be found here

The Nutrition Guide for physicians which Dr Barnard mentions and which you can buy for your doctor or yourself is here

And his book on reversing diabetes without drugs is available here. 

And here is the kindle version:

What are your thoughts on animal research and animal diets? How is your diet changing based on your own philosophy of health? I look forward to your questions which you can leave in the comment box below or drop me an e-mail at questions@askdrsoram.com 

As many of you know, I have been a vegetarian for the last 40 years. But starting May of this year after taking the course at Cornell University for health professionals on a whole food plant based diet I changed to being a vegan. My health improved, my well-being improved, and very importantly to me, my cholesterol improved without the use of pharmaceutical drugs.

Dr. Bernard and the organization he founded and of which he is still the president is the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, is an organization that educates doctors and patients about the benefits of a whole food plant based diet.

http://www.pcrm.org/

Dr. Bernard has been the author of many books including the most recent 21 – Day Weight Loss Kickstart, which is a book which helps people try a vegan diet for 21 days. Within 21 days most people will notice improvement in their health but this diet.

He has also co-written a vegan cookbook with 425 easy and delicious recipes to jumpstart weight loss. You can get it by clicking here

We talked about this growing statistics of diabetes in our country. There are over 25 million adults and children in the United States which is 8.3% of our population that have diabetes. Diabetes in children is one of the fastest growing conditions in children. The problem with diabetes is not mainly the elevated sugar but the consequences of elevated sugar which we will learn about in this interview.

You can find the PCRM website here, where you can get much more information.

I know you will enjoy listening to this interview as much as I did doing it.

Here are some of Dr Barnard’s articles:

A Low Fat vegan diet for Diabetes

A Low-Fat Vegan Diet Elicits Greater

Macronutrient Changes in individuals with type 2 Diabetes

Have you tried a vegan diet? Let me know in the comments below or drop me an e-mail and questions@askDrSoram.com.

I am delighted that Fraser health care home residents will now be getting vitamin D on a regular basis. This is a “ nursing home" in British Columbia, Canada. At least 200,000 falls are recorded in seniors each year in British Columbia and they expect that number to double as baby boomers age. Vitamin D is associated with an increased incidence of falls and the resultant consequences which can often include death for the senior that breaks their hip.

They will be giving the residents  20,000 IU weekly of vitamin D and then following them over time to see if the incidence of fractures is reduced.  I am very excited about this project as I think it is necessary that all seniors be given an adequate dose of vitamin D not only to protect against osteoporosis but also to reduce the incidence of falls and fractures. As many of you know I've written about this in my book and in my blog posts.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer's disease is an increasingly common problem in our country and early studies in the medical literature clearly showed relationship between vitamin D and cognitive dysfunction and dementia in older adults.

This article reviews that connection 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21790207

as does this one

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18503256

and I am delighted that David Llewellyn at the University of Exeter (UK) has been given a grant from the Alzheimer's Association for the study of vitamin D as a potential biomarker as well as therapy for dementia, brain shrinkage, and other neuroimaging abnormalities.

The article which you can read here

 http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?libid=16633

notes that over 800,000 people in the United Kingdom have dementia  now and that costs the UK economy 23 billion pounds per year which is more than cancer and heart disease costs combined. They note that the average cost for each person with dementia is greater than the average UK salary. And of course they are concerned about the baby boomers that will be multiplying these expenses.

Spinal surgery and Vitamin D

Spine related disability is higher in patients with low levels of vitamin D. The study found that 65% of patients who were undergoing spinal fusion had vitamin D deficiency. The authors note that vitamin D deficiency predisposes to fracture and sub optimal surgical outcome. As I've mentioned in previous articles and in my book, back pain can sometimes be resolved with proper dosage and of vitamin D.

Lupus and Vitamin D

Lupus is a disease close to my heart, because I see so many patients with lupus, who come to me for integrative medicine support. Lupus is now being looked at as a possible vitamin D  related disease. About 1.5 million Americans have lupus.

In this study they gave patients 100,000 IU of injectable vitamin D once a week for four weeks and then continued monthly. The study confirmed the safety of this dose of vitamin D and importantly noted that vitamin D boosted the number and activity of protective immune cells. It also reduced some abnormal immune cells, which calm down the immune system. The authors will be doing a larger study that is prospective to see if vitamin D should be recommended as a treatment for systemic lupus erythematous.

You can read about this study here

http://lupus.webmd.com/news/20111107/vitamin-d-shows-early-promise-against-lupus

NFL Football and Vitamin D

The American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine recently had a presentation at their convention, of the relationship between vitamin D and 89 NFL players aged 21 to 32 years. They noted that 80% of the football team they studied had vitamin D insufficiency. They also noted that African-American players and players who suffered muscle injuries had significantly lower levels of vitamin D. 

You can read about this study here

http://www.lef.org/newsletter/2011/0715_Vitamin-D-Insufficiency-Associated-with-Football-Injuries.htm

Your Questions

In the last part of this podcast I answer some of my reader’s questions. We talk about the source of vitamin D in my brand of vitamin D as well as why a young child who was out in the sun during the summer did not raise his level of vitamin D.

You can get a vitamin D home test kit and my name-branded Vitamin D here.

Please remember to send me your questions which I'm happy to answer in a generic way on my podcast. Please remember I'm not able to give you individual specific advice by e-mail as you are not my patient.

Also please leave your comments below where we can dialogue these issues.

Dr Crinnion gives some easy tips on reducing your body burden and  we talk about taking certain nutritional supplements to help with keeping the burden down. 

I am so pleased that Dr Crinnion has agreed to come back for more discussion of environmental medicine. I am hoping to have him as a regular guest on the show.

You can buy his book Clean, Green and Lean here.

Dr Crinnion’s website is here.

Please send questions that you may have for Dr. Crinnion to me at questions@askDrSoram.com. Or you can call my question line at 310-499-0275.

Was this interview helpful to you? Do you plan on making changes in your exposures to environmental chemicals? Will you be talking to your children about these exposures and how they can minimize exposures? Please leave your comments in the box below.

The environment we live in from the air we breathe to the water we drink to the food we eat to the personal-care products that we use on a daily basis is affecting the health of everyone. Every day, in my practice, I work with patients examining and helping them to reduce their body burden of these chemicals in order to help their health. 

Naturopathic doctors have led the way in our understanding of how these chemical affect our health and how to reduce the load we have already gotten. 

This is the first of what hope will be a series of interviews with Walter Crinnion, N.D., a noted naturopathic doctor, who specializes in Environmental Medicine.

Dr Crinnion has been on the board of directors of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and was the recipient of their first award for in-office research in 1999 and was awarded it a second time in 2002. He has been on the adjunct faculty of Bastyr University (Seattle, WA.), the National College of Naturopathic Medicine  (Portland, OR.), and the University of Bridgeport School of Naturopathic Medicine (Bridgeport, CT.). He is a professor at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (Tempe, AZ.) and the chair of their Environmental Medicine Department.

He is the author the book Clean, Green and Lean: Get Rid of the Toxins That Make You Fat and he has a website at http://www.crinnionmedical.com/

In this part 1 of our interview, Dr Crinnion and I start with my question “Do environmental toxicants really affect our health?” and move into the role of Mercury in human health and the exposure to it that we get in our diet from fish.

We then move on the talk about Phthalates and how easy it is to reduce our exposure to them and cleanse our body of them. we get in our diet from fish.

We then move on the talk about Phthalates and how easy it is to reduce our exposure to them and cleanse our body of them. 

Have you had your blood mercury checked? If you had elevated levels, what have you done to reduce them and have you been able to reduce them? Do you know what phthalates are? What have you done to reduce your exposure to them?

I look forward to your comments which you can write below or you can ask your questions by contacting me at questions@askdrsoram.com or by calling our question line at 310-499-0275.

This is part two of my interview with Dr. Mark Pimentel, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles California. Dr. Pimentel is the Director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Program and Laboratory at Cedars-Sinai medical center.

In the last podcast I talked with Dr. Pimentel about the diagnosis and treatment aspects of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and our current understanding of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth as its cause.

In this part two of my interview, I talk with him about the causative factors in this condition, additional aspects of treatment, and the direction that Dr. Pimental's research is taking him to get a deeper understanding of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

You can buy Dr Pimental’s book here.

Do you have friends and relatives with Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Are they aware that SIBO appears to be the cause? What symptoms do they have? How are they treated for their symptoms? Have you made them aware that SIBO is the most likely cause and is relatively easy to treat? Please let me know in your comments below or email questions to me at questions@askdrsoram.com.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the most common chronic medical condition worldwide with 15% to 20% of all populations suffering from IBS.

In the United States, over 60 million people of all ages suffer from IBS.

Other studies show that 30% of all health related costs in people with Gastrointestinal problems are due to IBS. Although it is an important disease, just by the sheer numbers of people with it, it does not kill people. For this reason, research for this condition is not as extensive and not as funded or widely discussed as conditions with major emotional impact like breast cancer and heart attacks.

Mark Pimentel MD has been my friend and colleague for several years and I am delighted that I had the opportunity to interview him about his work with  Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth (SIBO). 

Gas, bloating, abdominal distention are such common symptoms in our society today. This is confirmed by the number of commercials on radio and television for a vast variety of digestive complaints.

In this podcast I interview, Dr. Mark Pimentel, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Cedars – Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He is the Director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Program and Laboratory at Cedars – Sinai medical Center.

In my interview I discussed Dr. Pimentel's participation in the discovery and recognition that Irritable Bowel Syndrome is not a psychological condition, but rather a condition that is being recognized to be caused by bacteria in the small intestine. This condition is therefore called Small-Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth or SIBO for short. 

I was delighted to be able to interview Dr. Pimentel because I diagnose so many hundreds of my patients who were told they had Irritable Bowel Syndrome and treat them effectively with appropriate antibiotics and dietary therapy.

Because this interview was long, I have divided it into two sections.

In this, the first part, I discuss with Dr. Pimentel how the diagnosis is made, which antibiotics work best, and the diet that works best for the treatment of this condition.

Next week we will go on to Part 2 of the interview.

You can buy Dr Pimental’s book here.

Do you have friends and relatives with Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Are they aware that SIBO appears to be the cause? What symptoms do they have? How are they treating their symptoms? Have you made them aware that SIBO is the most likely cause and is relatively easy to treat? Please let me know in your comments below.

I also discuss my seven tips for optimizing your and your families vitamin D. You can also see the video I made of my tips for vitamin D by clicking here.

Are you telling your friends and relatives about the importance of vitamin D? This is the most important time of year to get your levels measured which you can do with this at home test kit or with your personal physician.
 

Are you taking Vitamin D? How much ? What have you noticed when taking it?

I look forward to hearing your comments in the box below.
 

I talk about the two epidemics that are going on in our country at this time in regards to vitamin D, and why over 1 billion people worldwide have a vitamin D deficiency.

I review  the 11 factors affecting vitamin D levels which I show on this graph below:
 

I also review the multitude of diseases that are connected with vitamin D deficiency, and the economic burden in the United States caused by vitamin D deficiency.

I also discussed the recent recall of the NOW brand of Calcium- Magnesium with vitamin D, due to the capsules containing a massive overdose of vitamin D. This was specifically product numbers 1251 and 1252. I ask the question why did this happen?

I review the 2005  study that was published that showed that vitamin D plays a crucial role in the production of certain types of white blood cells that are needed to fight infections.

Also new research on vitamin D is showing that vitamin D deficiency adversely affects respiratory health.

In addition steroid use, including the use of prednisone and Medrol, is strongly linked to having a vitamin D deficiency.

In another study the European Food Safety Authority has declared that "Vitamin D may reduce the risk of falling. Falling is a risk factor for bone fractures." This corroborates all the evidence which I cite in my book, The Vitamin D Revolution, showing that low vitamin D increases the risk of falling in the elderly.

You can check my store and get the highest quality Vitamin D right here.

And you get get my book HERE as well and DVD HERE

Are you taking vitamin D? What brand are you using? Have you measured your vitamin D levels? Do you have your family checking their levels as well? How much vitamin D are you taking at this time?

I look forward to hearing your replies in the comments section below.

Once thought to be a disease of the ear only, research indicates that tinnitus has a neurological component as well. The brain tries to fill in sounds that the ears can’t pick up. However, often this compensation is faulty, and the tinnitus sufferer is left hearing sounds he or she shouldn’t hear at high decibels and for prolonged periods of time.

If this continues for a while, the patient can also experience a stress response. While a “Fight or flight” response is helpful when faced with a real threat, in this case, it does more harm than good. Instead of sending a message to the brain to stop filling in the missing noise, it does the opposite. The internal noises get louder, thereby contributing to additional neurological and physiological responses. This further explains why patients report anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, and so forth.

Tinnitus is often triggered by loud noises. For example, many soldiers returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan were exposed to gunfire and explosions without proper ear protection. Over the past ten years, MRIs of the brain (imaging of the brain) have been able to pick up differences that can be attributed to tinnitus. It is possible that brain images taken before and after combat will help doctors diagnose and treat tinnitus in years to come. 

Currently, there is no standard treatment for tinnitus. Some doctors prescribe medication, even though none has been approved specifically for the condition. If you seek medical help for tinnitus, your treatment may include: sound therapy, acupuncture, hearing aids, cochlear implants, electrical brain stimulation, mindfulness training, and neck exercises. Here are some highlights:

•    Electrical Brain Stimulation
Jay Piccirillo, a professor of otolaryngology at Washington University in St. Louis, has conducted research with electromagnets to keep the brain from overcompensating when hearing loss is present. He told National Public Radio (NPR), “We think that perhaps that electrical stimulation just clears away that pathological, or that faulty, connection,” Piccirillo says, “with the hope that the reconnections are more normal and more healthy.” (http://www.npr.org/2011/07/18/138163304/tinnitus-why-wont-my-ears-stop-ringing)

•    Sound Therapy
A man who was suffering from extreme tinnitus symptoms and unable to work was interviewed by NPR, after an unsuccessful trial of electromagnetic therapy. He went on to try a form of sound therapy that involved listening to radio static. Although it was annoying at first, after a while, he was able to tune out the radio static. As time went on, the phantom sounds he heard as part of his tinnitus faded to background noise, like the radio static. Although it didn’t go away, he experienced enough relief that his quality of life improved. 

•    Neuromonics—Sound and Neural Stimulation
Neuromonics, www.neuromonics.com, makes a device that has been approved by the FDA. It addresses the neurological component of tinnitus, but delivers treatment via sound. According to their Web site, “The treatment utilizes a customized neural stimulus combined with specific music, delivered according to a coordinated program. The treatment is designed to interact, interrupt, and desensitize tinnitus disturbance for long-term benefit.” Each treatment is unique to the patient and each teaches the brain to filter out the extraneous, “inner” sounds.

The therapy usually takes place daily, for two or more hours, during the times of day when the sufferer is most affected. Treatment typically takes six months and can be done when relaxing, reading, working on the computer, cooking, and during other activities. The best results have been achieved when the patient follows a multi-stage process.

•    Mindfulness Training
Mindfulness training, which includes the practice of being present and of meditation, has been used very successfully for pain management. As I said in my first blog, there is often a similarity in the mindsets of chronic pain sufferers and tinnitus patients. The lack of control over their lives and the disease creates psychological struggles, such as anxiety and depression.

Currently, phase 2 of the “Mindfulness Based Tinnitus Reduction (MBTR): A Symptom Perception Shift Program” is being conducted. In Phase 1, researchers verified that cognitive behavior therapy and MBTR relieved distress and reduced symptoms caused by tinnitus. The researchers believe that mindfulness training alone will also benefit participants significantly. (http://clinicaltrialsfeeds.org/clinical-trials/show/NCT01229709)

•    Nutritional Supplements
Several nutritional supplements have been found helpful for people with tinnitus.
Ginkgo biloba has been found in seven studies to show clear improvement over placebo. It is believed that Ginkgo's mechanism of action is because of glutamate antagonism and neuroprotection. In addition, ginkgo increases circulation because it acts as a vasodilator allowing the capillaries to carry more blood.

Zinc is one of the most important mineral supplements. In one study in January 2003 patients treated with zinc daily for three months had a significant improvement in their tinnitus. This was true for people without or with zinc deficiency. Its benefit is thought to be due to the antioxidant properties of zinc.

Deodorized Garlic improves blood circulation and helps prevent arteriosclerosis. It is a natural antibiotic and antiviral. Several studies have shown that garlic reduces plaque and improves blood flow. It is also natural antioxidant.

***
At the time this blog was written, the Fifth Tinnitus Research Initiative Conference, “The Neuroscience of Tinnitus,” was being held. Scientists were expected to introduce a new drug, which had been used effectively to treat tinnitus in animals.

I will keep you posted as I learn more.

Homeopathic medicine is based on the idea that "like cures like". It was originated by Samuel Hahnemann who lived in the late 1700’s. He found that by giving people very dilute doses of common plants and minerals, repeatedly that they would get certain symptoms. This he called a "proving".

He kept very strict records of his work and all the symptoms that taking the same medicine over and over multiple times for days or weeks would produce. This is very analogous to a modern person taking a drug over and over too frequently and getting side effects.

He then used this information when a patient came to visit him. He would carefully notate all of the patient's symptoms and see which of the many different homeopathic medicines he had tested would produce those same symptoms. He then gave this "medicine" to the patient in a very dilute dose and the patient's symptoms would resolve and they would get well. This lay the foundation for homeopathy.

Since that time much study has been done on homeopathy and the variety of naturally occurring substances that have been tested has expanded tremendously. Today's homeopath is much  more sophisticated than Samuel Hahnemann could have ever been, and a gifted homeopath is able to decipher the patient's symptom complex and address it with a homeopathic remedy.
If you want to learn more about homeopathy I would prefer you to Dana Ulman’s excellent book at Amazon here or another one if his books HERE

I hope you enjoy part 2 of my interview with Gaya, as much as I did speaking to her. She is not accepting new patients at this time. However you may reach her directly at her e-mail, Gaya 909@gmail.com.

You can contact the American Institute of Homeopathy here and find a practitioner near YOU!

If you read more about homeopathy, let me know what you think! Have you taken homeopathic medicines? What type of results did you observe good or bad.  Leave a comment below or send me an email !

As most of my readers know I took a six-week intensive training course in the spring of this year at Cornell University (online) called "Whole Food Plant Based Nutrition." This course was taught by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., and several other prominent physicians who have been leading the charge for documenting the benefit of a whole food, plant-based diet.

After taking the course I changed my own diet from being a vegetarian for the last 39 years to being a pure vegan. It has helped my own energy and vitality. And even though I am quite slender it helped me reduce the belly fat, which had accumulated over the last several years.

In August of this year a new study was published in Lancet magazine entitled "Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK.” Researchers point out that excessive weight gain in populations forecast an increased burden from several diseases, most especially cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers. They use a simulation model to project the probable health and economic consequences for the next two decades from the continuing rise in obesity in the United States and the UK.

The researchers project an additional 65 million obese adults in the United States and 11 million more obese adults in the UK by the year 2030. This is expected to lead to an additional 6.0 to 8.5 million cases of diabetes, 5.7 to 7.3 million cases of heart disease and stroke, and 492,000 to 699,000 additional cases of cancer. They predict that this will lead to  a loss of an additional 26 to 55 million quality—adjusted life years for the United States and England combined.

The researchers also predict that the medical costs associated with these preventable diseases are estimated to increase by $48 to $66 billion per year in the United States by the year 2030. They recommend that effective policies to promote healthier weight be put in place as soon as possible because of the economic benefits.

It is because of all these statistics and studies that I urge you to watch Forks Over Knives. It is a simple way to learn the benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet, which has been documented to help improve ALL of the conditions mentioned in this article.

I can also recommend that you read the book associated with the movie, because it is loaded with recipes to help you get started on this diet.

The DVD for the movie is available at Amazon.com, as is the book. Also check out the Forks over Knives website HERE

Those of you with a Netflix account can watch Forks Over Knives on Netflix for free.

Let me know what you think about the movie and/or the book. Is it possible for you to implement this for even two or three months to see if it makes a change in your lives? What are your stumbling blocks? What are your roadblocks?

You can leave a comment here, e-mail me at questions@askDrSoram.com, or leave me a voicemail message at 310-499-0275. I look forward to hearing from you.

LANCET ARTICLE

I have known Gaya for well over 10 years. I referred her my patients and they have all been benefited by her ability to prescribe the optimal homeopathic remedy for the growth and health of the person.

Born and raised in India, Gaya migrated to the United States in 1984.  She has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from India. Her diploma in homeopathic medicine is from The Hahnemann College of Homeopathy, London and Masters degree in homeopathy is from Hahnemann Post-Graduate Institute of Homeopathy, London. She also carries a Fellowship from the British Institute of Homeopathy, London. Her paternal grandfather and great grandfather were Doctors of Unani medicine (a fusion of Persian, Arabic and Indian Ayurveda). 

She is also keenly interested in Ayurvedic medicine which she studied with Dr. Vasant Lad and on her own for years. Gaya has been practicing Homeopathic Medicine in the Los Angeles area since 1996. Her soon to be released book, 'UNDERSTANDING HOMEOPATHY'  gives her in-depth understanding of the philosophy of Homeopathic Medicine and it's far – reaching healing potential.

Gaya is not currently taking new patients. You can email your questions to her at gaya909@gmail.com .

For newcomers to homeopathy, the use of a remedy to carry an energy frequency into the body to heal the body may seem unusual.

For beginners to homeopathy I refer you to my colleague Dana Ullman’s article entitled Why Homeopathy Makes Sense and Works.

I also refer you to his article about the work of Luc  Montagnier Ph.D. a Nobel laureate, and his new work on highly diluted DNA (homeopathically diluted) and the structural changes it produces in water as well as the electromagnetic waves that he says emanate from the highly  diluted DNA of various pathogens. Montagnier believes that this will have application to many chronic diseases that we see in society today.

I look forward to your comments about this interview which will be concluded in next week's podcast.

Tinnitus affects patients differently. Some notice changes in cognitive abilities, equilibrium, and ability to sleep soundly. Although patients do not typically experience pain with tinnitus, like pain syndromes, there is a feeling of helplessness associated with the condition. This often leads to secondary medical problems, such as depression, anxiety, and exacerbated stress levels.

Obviously, these primary and secondary conditions can impact one’s personal and professional relationships and one’s ability work—even inside the home.

For some, the ringing, whooshing, and/or buzzing, which can occur in one or both ears, is caused by an event. The actor William Shatner has suffered from tinnitus since an explosion on the set of Star Trek occurred decades ago. He is now a spokesperson for the American Tinnitus Association (ATA), helping to raise awareness of the disease and funding for research.

Shatner and others (including me) are particularly concerned for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Respected tinnitus researcher Richard Salvi, Ph.D., of the University of Buffalo says, “As many as 50 percent of combat soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who come back have tinnitus. In 2010, the Veterans Administration paid out more than $1 billion for tinnitus disability claims alone. It’s become a huge problem for military and VA hospitals.” (http://www.buffalo.edu/news/12768)

You don’t have to go to war or be around an explosion, though. Some individuals develop tinnitus for no apparent reason. Others will experience it after an ear infection, especially a severe one. Tinnitus is very prevalent in younger people. In fact, 75% of people aged 18 to 30 experience tinnitus from listening to very loud music at live venues or through headphones. (Holmes S, Padgham N. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2009; 18(21): 2927.)

To date, there is no cure for tinnitus, no pill to take, although there are some treatments which provide relief. I will discuss these options and an exciting new treatment in my next blog.
 

  For those of you with a Netflix account can watch the movie streaming free from Netflix !

The online course at Cornell University that I took is here, with more information about Dr Campbell.

You can buy Dr Campbell’s book here
And also get the books by Dr Esselstyn here and from Dr Mcdougall here and from Dr Barnard here

.
Here is the interview on CNN of president Bill Clinton with Wolf Blitzer.

Let me know what you think about this diet? Have you tried it? Do have relatives or friends that you want to encourage to get on it? Are there any questions about it that I can answer for you. You can put a comment in the box below or you can drop me an e-mail at questions@askDrSoram.com.
I look forward to hearing from you.

As I promised  my listeners, this is the first of what I expect to be many podcasts where I  interview people  noted for their outstanding work in Integrative Medicine.

In this interview I have the privilege to interview my longtime friend Guru Prem Singh Khalsa. He is a world renowned body worker that works with me at the Khalsa Medical Clinic. Guru Prem and I have been friends for over 30 years.

A wide range of medical problems from all aspects of digestive problems, including acid reflux, chronic constipation, to migraine headaches, heart palpitations, panic attacks and anxiety as well as back and neck problems are intimately connected with the way we stand, walk, sit and breathe.

The majority of my patients with any medical problem breathe "backwards". By this I mean their diaphragm is going up when it should be going down and it is going down when it should be going up with the breathing process.

 I feel very fortunate that Guru Prem is part of our clinic, and I refer many of my patients to him for  bodywork as well as education about posture and breathing as well as his ability to uplift people spiritually.

 As mentioned in his interview, our heart  directly touches the diaphragm. I have shown in these two diagrams the anatomy of where that happens, and you may go to the website where these pictures were created for more details. Notice how the diaphragm goes DOWN with inhalation and UP with exhalation. Check  yourself and see if you are doing it right!

 You can find out more about Guru Prem by visiting his website Here, where you can find his books and music and you can also get his books and music at Spirit Voyage Music .

Please leave your comments below!

Hoping to help you take your health to the next level !

Dr Soram

The study followed nearly 1,100 pregnant women and more than 800 infants in Mexico. The women were given either 400 mg of DHA or a placebo from 18 to 22 weeks gestation through the end of their pregnancy.

After childbirth, the mothers were asked to keep a diary about any symptom of illness their baby had for the first six months of life. They also completed questionnaires about their baby’s health at one, three, and six months of age.

All the infants were breastfed. Not surprisingly, the mothers who took DHA had more of it in their breast milk than the moms in the group given a placebo.

Researchers determined that the infants whose mothers took DHA supplements were 24% less likely to have cold symptoms at one month of age. The authors concluded, “DHA supplementation during pregnancy decreased the occurrence of colds in children at one month and influenced illness symptom duration at one, three, and six months.”

Here is a summary of the findings. When compared to the placebo group:

•    At one month of age: 24% fewer colds; shorter duration of cough, phlegm, and wheezing.
•    At three months of age: 14% less time showing signs of illness.
•    At six months: shorter duration of fever, runny nose, difficult breathing, rash, and “other illness.”

It was not all positive results for the DHA group, though. These babies suffered slightly more rashes and significantly more vomiting.
 
According to lead author Usha Ramakrishnan, Ph.D., “This is a large scale, robust study that underscores the importance of good nutrition during pregnancy. Our findings indicate that pregnant women taking 400 mg of DHA are more likely to deliver healthier infants.”

Dr. Ramakrishnan previously reported on research showing that the birth weight and head circumference was greater in babies whose mothers took 400 mg of DHA during the pregnancy with their first child. These same children were also taller at 18 months.

I have known for decades that eating a healthy diet during pregnancy is good for both the baby’s and mother’s health. Twenty or thirty years ago, research proved the importance of getting enough calcium during pregnancy to protect mom’s bones, especially long-term. More recent studies have shown the importance of getting enough folic acid (for prevention of birth defects) and iron (for keeping the blood oxygenated and nutrient-rich)..

I began prescribing DHA to pregnant women in the late 1990’s as the evidence in the medical literature was already strong then. Thank goodness that in the last ten years, many more studies have  shown that one of the active ingredients in fish oil or algae, DHA, is good for babies brain, eye, and immune system development. This is why baby formulas are finally being supplemented with DHA now. DHA has also been show to support immune function. This is the first study to link a mother’s intake of DHA during pregnancy to her child’s immune system, though.

If you are pregnant, I strongly recommend you speak with your physician and obstetrician about the benefits of supplementing with fish oil. Start now eating right and taking the right supplements for your baby. You will be glad you did. 

References:

Beth Imhoff-Kunsch, Aryeh D. Stein, Reynaldo Martorell, Socorro Parra-Cabrera, Isabelle Romieu, and Usha Ramakrishnan. Prenatal Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation and Infant Morbidity: Randomized Controlled Trial. Pediatrics, September, 2011, published online August 1, 2011: 10.1542/peds.2010-1386.

Ramakrishnan U, Stein AD, Parra-Cabrera S, Wang M, Imhoff-Kunsch B, Juárez-Márquez S, Rivera J, Martorell R. Effects of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation during pregnancy on gestational age and size at birth: randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Mexico. Food Nutr Bull. 2010 Jun;31(2 Suppl):S108-16.